BY MIKE WARING

		A note from Mary: My husband Mike accompanied me to Walt Disney World in October 2002 and agreed to write some restaurant reviews for MouseSavers. It is now February 2003 and he has finally found the time to finish his rewrites. I think you'll agree it was worth the wait. I have inserted my own comments here and there [in brackets] whenever I have something to add. Enjoy!

Mary and I arrived in Orlando on Saturday, October 19, 2002. It was a hot and muggy day - what a surprise! Coming from San Diego where the average humidity is around 10% the mugginess was especially a shock.

Anyhow, after we got the rental car we proceeded over to the hotel, the Caribe Royale. Quite nice I think. The rooms are very spacious and the grounds attractive. We had previously decided to try the new in-house restaurant, The Venetian Room, for dinner. Which we were quite ready for, as Southwest Airlines' meal arrangements are minimalist at best.

The restaurant was very nicely decorated in a formal manner, which was a little at odds with the setting, as one can see people splashing around in the pool right outside the window. Though I guess one can chalk that up to being in Florida. Overall it was nice and cool and the lighting was subdued, very relaxing.

We both started with a drink, a glass of Silverado cabernet for Mary and the obligatory Heinken for yours truly. While we perused the menu, the waiter also detailed the specials for the night. During our conversation with him we found out that the restaurant had actually opened only three days previously.

The menu choices were all quite tempting. It was difficult to choose, but eventually we were able to find something we thought we'd like.

Mary started with lump crab cake with Pommery mustard butter sauce and a black sesame cabbage slaw. The crab cake was almost entirely lump crab, with a minimum of binding ingredients. It was excellent and the slaw counterpointed the richness of the crab meat extremely well. My selection was also top notch. I decided to have the chef's selection of cheeses. I was torn and almost decided to order this for dessert instead but couldn't wait - cheese is my life.

Because I was being decadent and having the cheese first I threw decorum overboard and also chose a second starter of lobster bisque. I always try the lobster bisque whenever I can find it. I do the same with crème brulee, my other favorite. The bisque was served en croute and was slightly unusual it that it was not overpowered by cream and butter so the flavor of the lobster came to the fore.

For entrees Mary decided to have the duck confit, served with caramelized guava choucroute and grilled petite squash. I was extremely tempted by the veal chop but since it was served with broccolini [which Mike hates because it "just is a fancy form of broccoli"] I decided instead to go for the rack of lamb with yautia mash, spinach flan and sour orange glazed carrots.

Mary decided that she finally understood what duck confit was really all about, after tasting her dish. Previous efforts all paled in significance to the richness and flavor of this dish - to the point where I had to make puppy dog eyes in order to get a taste. [The "choucroute" on the side of the duck was a delicious dish of finely shredded red cabbage cooked in a sweet and sour sauce and presented in a cute little pastry tart. I would not have known guava was an ingredient except that it said so on the menu. In any case, it tasted outstanding!]

My rack of lamb was perfectly prepared and very attractively arranged. I had to look up yautia since I've never heard of it before. It's a starchy tropical plant related to taro - I learn something new everyday. I found it quite nice. The spinach flan was somewhat disappointing. It was a little bland and the texture, although very flan-like as advertised, didn't really appeal to me. Yes, bad me - I ordered flan and then complained cause it tasted like... flan. The carrots, on the other hand, have been added to my experimentation list. I periodically find something so tasty that I work at home to duplicate the dish. The sour orange carrots were certainly added to my list. So far no success, I'm going to have to go back and corner the chef to find out what I'm doing wrong.

I decided after tasting Mary's wine to get a glass for myself. Guess we're getting old, we would have enjoyed an entire bottle back in the old days, especially as we only had to walk back to the room. Ah, age.

At the beginning of the meal, Mary had decided to try the chocolate soufflé. Since I had managed to make a pig of myself with both a cheese plate and the lobster bisque, I declined a dessert and went straight for the coffee. The soufflé was expertly prepared but ultimately not totally satisfying. It appears that it was made with a lighter version of chocolate then Mary normally prefers, and although light and quite well prepared it didn't have the richness of flavor one expects from this dish.

Service was very attentive and non-intrusive. Big marks for all of the restaurant staff. [I just want to add my "bravo." The service was some of the best I've experienced, ever, and I consider that especially amazing since the restaurant had been open for only a few days!]

Overall, a superb dining experience. However, one pays quite well for that experience. The bill [$185] was the highest we would experience on the whole trip. While comparable to the cost of a very top end restaurant in San Diego or Los Angeles, residents of less expensive areas of the country might experience a little sticker shock. We thought the meal well worth the price and would eat here again in a heartbeat.

Our second meal was breakfast in the Caribe Royale's casual restaurant, The Tropicale. Since we decided to stick primarily with the buffet breakfast we didn't expect too much [in general, we are not buffet fans] and we weren't surprised. The usual selection of breakfast stuff was enlivened by what may be the worst biscuits I have ever come across. They were cold, mealy, and totally devoid of taste. Bleh. [I have to agree that the biscuits were pretty awful, but the rest of the buffet offerings were just fine. There was some nice fresh fruit and plenty of selection.] After the dinner the night before I wasn't really in the mood to start off with a huge breakfast so we both dined lightly and then made our way off to Disney-MGM Studios [as of 2008, this park is called Disney's Hollywood Studios].

For a change we had decided before the trip that we were going to try eating at some of the places we had skipped on previous trips. So for Disney-MGM Studios we selected Mama Melrose's for lunch. As Mary commented, it reminded her a lot of a local San Diego Italian restaurant chain. Lots of faux Italian décor and, strangely, lots of pictures of TV stars of the 70's and 80's. I'm not too sure how the two things are connected.

The meal was not unpleasant. As we were still recovering from the effects of the binge from the night before, we limited ourselves to entrees and skipped the starters. I had a four cheese flat bread pizza from the wood fire ovens on the premises. Quite tasty with asiago, mozzarella, provolone and gorgonzola cheese. Notice I'm sticking with the cheese theme?

Mary had a humongous bowl of orecchiette pasta with chicken, broccoli and smoked bacon in a parmesan cream sauce. Her dish was pretty undistinguished although the smoked bacon was quite tasty. There appeared to be almost no broccoli included, as I picked out some of the chicken and bacon when Mary surrendered less than half way through the bowl, and I did not even notice that the dish had broccoli, which I detest with a vengeance.

Mama Melrose's was not too bad a choice for lunch, though I have to admit, eating huge portions of heavy pasta on a hot and muggy central Florida day is not conducive to active park hopping. I might be more inclined to revisit the restaurant on a significantly cooler time of year. Still it's not bad, and prices and food quality were reasonable overall.

Next up was a meal at Jiko at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. This was my first visit to the Lodge, although Mary had stayed there before on one of her trips (while I stayed home, mowed the lawn, looked after the dog and went to sleazy bars with unsavory companions). It does remind me of the Wilderness Lodge, hands down my favorite WDW resort hotel.

The restaurant itself is pleasant though décor was a little overly trendy for my tastes. Our visit coincided with one of the usual torrential downpours so the restaurants (both Jiko and Boma) were quite crowded with refugees from the parks. After waiting for about 30 minutes we were seated. We were accompanied by two friends of Mary's, so once again yours truly was surrounded by bright, vivacious females and so I had to keep the usual monosyllabic grunts to a minimum.

We decided to share some appetizers and started with "Duck Firecrackers" (hot spring and cold summer rolls with oyster dipping sauce and jicama-apple slaw) and Crispy Cinnamon Spiced Beef Roll with Vegetable Banana Dip. Personally I approve highly of food that can be wrapped up in pastry wrappers and eaten with fingers. Both items were acceptable though I found the spice in the spiced beef rolls to be milder than I'd prefer and since I don't care for bananas in any form I skipped the dip. Mary said it was good though.

For my entrée I had the Grilled Buttermilk-Curry Shrimp with jade rice-lentil-daikon seed pilaf, roasted butternut squash and sagh dhal. Mary had the Pan Roasted Monkfish with crispy parsnips and tomato butter sauce. Personally I found the shrimp kind of disappointing. Although they were large and cooked adequately and on skewers - allowing for more utensil free eating - there was very little curry flavor or buttermilk flavor. I did very much like the rice dish and would have been quite happy making a meal of just that and the squash.

Mary's monkfish was tasty though the portion size was excessive. Whatever the vegetables were that were served with the dish must have been pretty unmemorable since there's no mention of them in my notes.

For dessert I had the pistachio crème brulee. I found the flavor quite appealing though the inclusion of actual pistachio nut pieces in the dish was a little disconcerting. They ended up being a little mushy and detracted from the dish rather than enhancing it. Mary had the "Afrikaanse" Milk Tart with dried cherries and toasted nuts. It was pleasant though not particularly memorable. [Maybe not memorable to Mike, but I loved this dessert! The name sounds kind of weird, but really it's a custard tart with dried cherry sauce.]

I snagged a Tanzanian Chocolate Purse from our dinner companions. This is one reason Mary doesn't allow me to eat with other people often - I invite myself to sample what they're eating and sometimes take it away from them if it's better than what I ordered. The purses were filled with dried dates and cardamom and accompanied by a honey dipping sauce. Quite nice though a little sweet for my tastes. Everyone else enjoyed them, so I must just be a curmudgeon.

After these rather rich and wonderful meals we pretty much stuck to fast food for the next couple of days since we were planning on Artist Point in the Wilderness Lodge for our last evening in Orlando. This has been a favorite of ours since we first visited WDW several years ago. And as usual it didn't disappoint.

The setting is hasn't changed since our first visit and it shouldn't - it's still very pleasant with a nice view. Very Craftsman style design, which Mary likes a lot. It looks good to the uncultured primitive that is her husband too.

The meal selection was very difficult. We normally have a rule: whoever picks something from the menu first gets to order it and the other person has to pick something else. Well, it broke down this time. Neither one of use would budge from our selections so we both had the same starters and entrees. This may be a first.

Both of us started with Smoky Portobello Soup with Roasted Shiitakes and Chive Oil. This will undoubtedly go down as one of the most wonderful soups I have ever tasted. [I agree 100%. It is an absolutely amazing soup. I even got the chef to send me the recipe!] It's pretty much tied with the lobster bisque we had earlier in the week. Wonderful smoke flavor which still let the flavors of the mushrooms come through. I've requested a smoker for my next birthday so I can embark on a long and arduous search for the best way to smoke Portobello mushrooms because I'm convinced that I could actually subsist on this dish to the exclusion of all others for the rest of my life. Well, maybe not, but d***, it was good.

We then both had the Grilled Buffalo Sirloin with Sweet Potato-Hazelnut Gratin, and Sweet Onion Jam. I almost always get the buffalo when I go to Artist Point. The only time I do not eat buffalo steak is when they have the Copper River Salmon on the menu. I really wish our local butchers would start stocking buffalo as it has such rich flavor compared to the usual beef cuts we can get locally. The gratin was very tasty and something that really enhanced the steak without overpowering it.

As usual I ended the evening with the crème brulee, cappuccino flavored this time. Very pleasant and a wonderful ending to yet another sterling meal.

If you enjoyed this review, check out Mike's other Walt Disney World and Orlando area dining reviews:

• January 2006: Teppanyaki Dining Room, Raglan Road, Earl of Sandwich, Trails End Buffet, Boma and Rainforest Café

• October 2006: Cape May, Biergarten, Liberty Tree Tavern, California Grill, Fulton's Crab House and Beaches and Cream

• December 2007: Tusker House, The Plaza Restaurant, Tokyo Dining, Steak 'n Shake and Seasons 52

• May 2008: Emeril's Tchoup Chop and Todd English's bluezoo

• May 2008: Cici's Pizza Buffet and Wolfgang Puck Express

• December 2008: Brown Derby, The Wave, Tutto Italia, Sunshine Seasons and ABC Commissary

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